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I'm not sure what in their system would really make me happy with this deal, so I'm fairly curious. It's hard to imagine them dealing a young MLB piece in return.

SWR's walk rate is concerning, but maybe I'm just a bit more lenient this year on pitchers due to last year. I think the fact that his stuff is showing well in AA is good enough. I recall Trey McNutt hitting AA and then we realized his stuff had backed up and also wasn't as consistent/sharp/good as we expected. I actually never was huge on Martin. Thought he was a bit over-hyped last draft. Still, value wise, it's very good. Maybe not so good that they robbed Toronto that badly, but gotta think Minnesota did well on this deal.

Eh. Aldo Ramirez is a nice young arm who has hit A+. May not have the highest ceiling in the world, but there's velocity and solid secondary pitches. It looks like he's improved this year with his secondary consistency. He just turned 20 is having a strong season in Salem. Could definitely see him get a justifiable bump up a level, and he could be in AA next year at some point. I think soxprospects analysis is correct - more end of the rotation possibility, with a chance that at his age and development, he might have a mid-rotation ceiling if all the dominoes fell correctly. Thing is, Schwarber's on a mutual option that he's likely to decline in an effort to get a long term deal. So, it's a rental, and for a guy who is hurt right now. The more I think about it, the more I think it's actually relatively solid. Yeah, but you like every prospect. Really? I do? Okay. Again, Schwarber's INJURED. He's also a rental and heading to FA. Are you thinking they should've gotten a top 50 prospect for him?

I don't know, but I figure, with the contract and performance record, you'd get something solid. I kept on thinking that maybe the Angels and Joe Maddon might come in on him and perhaps offer at least one of their top 4.

They should get more than Scherzer. There's an extra year of control on Berrios. That said, I think it's a horrible trade for Toronto. I get it, they want to make a push, and with Berrios around next year, that gives them a window. Still, Woods-Richardson likely would help sooner than later.

Eh. Aldo Ramirez is a nice young arm who has hit A+. May not have the highest ceiling in the world, but there's velocity and solid secondary pitches. It looks like he's improved this year with his secondary consistency. He just turned 20 is having a strong season in Salem. Could definitely see him get a justifiable bump up a level, and he could be in AA next year at some point. I think soxprospects analysis is correct - more end of the rotation possibility, with a chance that at his age and development, he might have a mid-rotation ceiling if all the dominoes fell correctly. Thing is, Schwarber's on a mutual option that he's likely to decline in an effort to get a long term deal. So, it's a rental, and for a guy who is hurt right now. The more I think about it, the more I think it's actually relatively solid.

It's possible. I wouldn't rule it out. I'm just saying that, from the Cubs perspective, they didn't think it was enough, so moving him makes sense from the organization's perspective.

Nationals ended up getting Mason Thompson for Hudson. An intriguing power pen arm type, but supposedly Padres fans are upset about losing Thompson, which I find ridiculous when your window is now. I don't think that much of Hudson, but he helps their pen.

I'll be curious what the offers were. It sounds like Rizzo wasn't willing to take another discount. While I get it for the players perspective, from the Cubs perspective, he was declining and more nostalgia than a key piece of the next core.

I really like Carrillo in that trade as well. You know what's sort of comical about the Nationals fire sale/rebuild? It's that, after spending (somewhat recklessly) to keep their window open, their next window is roughly the same time as the Orioles right now, who tanked hard for two years. Instead of waiting too late to deal Trea Turner (or committing a huge sum of years and money to Turner), they dealt him early enough, to get quality talent (witness the Orioles return on Machado). Now, like the Orioles, they have two upper level SP arms that are intriguing (Hall/Rodriguez for Orioles, Cavalli/Gray for Nationals). Orioles have Rustchmann ... but Nationals have, and are trying to convince him to stay, Soto. Orioles positional depth chart is a bit deeper, but adding Ruiz starts to balance the ledger for the Nationals in that regards. Really, their windows (probably attempting to start it in 2 years) are about the same.

Well, I was really thinking of just Gore, Hassell, and Abrams. That said, if I'm being honest, if this is the one time that AJ Preller shows restraint, then good for him. His moves only work if he keeps enough young talent in the system, particularly the elite chips, and those three have big ceilings. Abrams might be ready next year at this rate (more mid-end of the year, but still). Edit: It's fair that Gore might be broken, but I'd still take a shot at it. The talent was too enticing in 2019, so I'd still take it for a spin. Campusano should be up there as well. Slipped my mind earlier.

C'mon down AJ Preller- there's still Kimbrel and Bryant. Hell, we'll give them to you and take Hosmer if you give us two of your big 3 young talents.

Holy crap. really? Ruiz and Gray? Can't blame the Nationals. Curious on the mid-range prospects as well. Holy crap that's a deal.

I have a hard time believing that it's just Ruiz as a top prospect going to the Nationals. With all this jostling and Trea Turner put in, I'm curious how big a deal this is. I had been mildly wondering if the Padres would go all-in and go after Trea (a very Preller thing to do). Scary thing is, the guy they have after Ruiz, Cartaya, might be a better catching prospect, and he'll probably be in AA next year. Edit: As an aside, it's the right time for the Nationals to make this move. You want to put your best foot forward, for lack of a better term, when Juan Soto is about to hit FA (2025), so they've got a year or two to really build back up. I have to think they are getting an arm as well - maybe not Gray, though.

I'm sure most of the takes have been made and I haven't read them yet, but I love this deal. This is fantastic. Truthfully, I don't think the value is all that different from a Gallo trade, but just that there's a lot more risk. Considering it's for an aging, on the decline, impending FA Rizzo ... I think it's fantastic. By no means does this mean I think we got ourselves two lock, stock studs. That said, Alcantara's ceiling intrigues me for more than any of the guys going in the Gallo deal (you are betting heavy that Duran has somehow turned the corner on his hit tool, which might be, but I'm not ready to buy it yet). Vizcaino reminds me of another Vizcaino that was in the Yankees organization - Arodys. A bit different, but the upside is intriguing. If I'm being honest, at his age, it's unlikely he's a starter. This is a very good return for Rizzo. Edit: I mean, I could see the Cubs continuing to try Vizcaino as a starter, but I think long run, he's probably a pen arm. Wouldn't change how I feel on the deal. Also, I honestly forgot Arodys Vizcaino was with the Cubs.

I could believe that. That was a stunning fall, but boy, the value of that deal was fantastic. What was it, Samardzija and Hammel for Russell, McKinney, and Straily? Getting an elite prospect was so difficult, and they got one. What league is Russell in now? I know he came back from the KBO but I never followed what happened next.

It's interesting that the Padres fans seem to think that they got him without giving up a top level prospect. Dunno, seen enough random comments. I'm very curious - it's hard to imagine that Scherzer didn't get some top shelf offers, so unless he specifically wanted to force his way to San Diego (no indication of that, sounds like he was open to a contender), I have to think that the Nationals got something quality. Is it Abrams/Gore/Hassell quality (to be clear, not all three, just mean did they get one as a headliner), or a notch below? Have to wait and see I guess.

The Cubs made the right moves (non-developmental portion ... that's a whole different bag) ... and often times, it just didn't work out. I mean, almost all their major moves have been reasonable. The Heyward signing - made sense (it's sort of sad to think that the Heyward signing might end up being the downfall of this core in some respects, with the contract hanging over things, but it doesn't change the fact that at the time, it made sense, and when they got Fowler back, it was the cherry on top). Darvish was considered a mild discount, IIRC. I disliked the Quintana trade because of who we gave up, but the value was fine and I understood it, considering Quintana's performance and contract. About the only major trade you could possibly quibble on value would be the Aroldis and Gleyber trade, but okay, they thought the addition of Aroldis was the difference to winning a title, and hey we won a title. That doesn't necessarily justify moves, but you live with it when you get a title instead of running through hypothetical scenarios. Sometimes moves just don't work out. As fun as the Padres moves have been, unless they get Scherzer on the cheap (which there fans seem to think, I have my doubts that the Nationals gave him up without getting a top shelf prospect), they've really torn down the system for this one run.

I mean, Tepera did bounce back with a decent run in July. At the end of the day, I think non-elite pen arms, their trade value tends not to be that much in general. There will be some cases where guys go for more, but I think the industry has simply adjusted in some respects. To be honest, what I find baffling about isn't the Cubs - it's that a team hanging around with pen problems (plenty of teams fit that mold) didn't try to buy some pen arms on the cheap to see if they can creep back in. I mean, the Cubs have been known sellers for a few weeks now. A team like the Angels could've bought a couple arms on the cheap, and if they couldn't get back in, they could spin them off by the deadline again and likely be just fine.

Now, this is going to be fun to see what the return is. AJ Preller's really banking on a run now. He already got taken once by Mike Rizzo (IMO), so I'm curious what the deal is now. Of course, Scherzer's status lessens Rizzo's leverage.

It is what it is. I mean, there's been cases where guys like this really don't get traded for that much (Daniel Hudson went to Washington a couple years for an A ball prospect that I can't remember, Mark Melancon was dealt for was dealt for Winkler and Tristan Beck). So to complain about the return in this trade ... yeah, everyone hoped for more, but it's reasonable. That said, it does feel like the non-closer relief market went from, at least the rumors and talk, a potential seller's market to very much a buyer's market. Tepera's numbers were strong enough that I thought he could pull in more than Bailey Horn, so either the market swerved hard into a buyer's market (Brad Hand only got Riley Adams) or the Cubs really liked Horn that much. I'm sure they liked him, but I tend to think it's the former moreso than the latter.

Well that was sort my intent ... all the guys are interesting but ... I mean, Bertz isn't wrong. Value wise, almost all trades are better than a comp pick. But there has to be enough value to justify. For bryant, the Gallo return, I'd take it. Whether or not we get that will be interesting.

Eh, Kantrovitz is in Year 2 and both have been marked by draft changes. Every Scouting Director has bright spots, and every scouting director has huge misses. It's easy to forget that Wilken has had many good moments running drafts, and I thought McLeod was somewhat over-hyped when he came in but he's had quality drafts as well. The current system being set up the way it is, pool money is the most significant thing now. _____ The Gallo trade ended up being Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith, Trevor Hauver, and Glenn Otto, as Pereira and Vazquez ended up not being involved. My only guess is that, with the positive seasons for these guys, maybe the Rangers had them graded differently internally. It doesn't dramatically change any perspectives on the deal, because as interesting as Pereira sounded, he's still insanely raw. I see that Longenhagen has Duran up at 3 (but I think he was the high man on Duran all along anyways) for the Rangers. It's a solid return and really comes down to buying Duran's (and maybe Smith's) bat a lot. Nothing great defensively, as Smith might be the only one that could play a premium position, so those bats would have to really play. I get the deal, but boy, it sure seems quite risky for 1+ years of Gallo. A part of me wonders if they might really buy Otto as a starter. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.

I don't think I've really overrated the comp pick. I've consistently said that the Cubs should deal as the chances are that the return is far better. As I said above, I'd take that package over a comp pick. That said, there is something to be said for the extra pool money and flexibility that the draft would offer, even at pick 70. Look, any value methodology is going to always give credit towards the return and understandably so, but I think there's a line where the return is justified or not. If we got Deichmann/P whose name is slipping me for Bryant (and it'll obviously be more), yes, that would be more value than a comp pick, but keeping Bryant and getting the 70th pick and more pool money offers flexibility that might just be worthwhile. Maybe I'm drawing a thin line, but I think there's a line where a trade is justified or not. Again, I'd take the Yankees package if it was offered (although my gut feeling says that package will look pretty pedestrian in a year or two ... doesn't mean I can't like the package, though), but I think there's a line where the value may be worth it, but it just wouldn't make sense to make the move.

The raw reports on every single one of the guys all holds some level of intrigue. I mean, Longenhagen slapped a Dan Uggla comp on Duran, which ain't bad. Peak Uggla was fairly good, it just didn't last that long. Josh Smith ... looks like your "classic" offensive middle infielder profile, a guy with some pop, works the count, and makes good contact. Longenhagen has him as a utility guy, which is understandable, but I mean, it's like the Cubs "hopes" on Chase Strumpf. Even at 2nd, it's a good profile. Pereira looks the most intriguing based off scouting reports - a guy with a good blend of hitting ability and power and able to man CF. Hauver's bat sounds like ... you know who he sounds like to me? Sounds like Adam Eaton actually? Even Otto holds some intrigue. That said, Uggla comps are tough because the bat has to be at least usable/average for the power to play. Uggla fell hard and fast after the peak. It's not hard to imagine Smith/Hauver being more utility types/org players, and the minors are littered with young, raw, talented international signings whose bats struggled against tougher competition. Relievers are relievers, so the pitchers aren't much. If we got offered that for Bryant, yeah, I'd probably take that over the comp pick. All of them are playing well this year, at a quick glance. The quantity in of itself would sort of make up for the loss of pool money. It's just, most assumed Gallo had more value so I am admittedly curious now what KB could even bring in.